Is Liberal Bais in The News Screwing Us?

[Bill Thompson]

I have noticed a few things lately. First of all I have heard that the mainstream media knew that John Edwards was screwing someone he was not married to and said nothing about it. (while running for president -- if that is not a big deal to you, I would like to discuss this) I also know that the media sent teams of investigators to dig up any trash they could on Sarah Palin.

Now, I am not a fan of Sarah Palin. I am not a fan because I honestly know nothing about her and I no longer trust the media to be straight with me about her.

Then, recently, I clicked on msnbc.com and saw that they reported that Rush Limbaugh said some dope that we should let Haiti suffer. So I dug a little deeper and guess what? He never said anything like that at all. It is a flat-out lie. The oposite is true. He said it is the responsibility of the American people to be giving. Either the reporters are too stupid or they corrupt to get it right. In fact Bill Clinton has said the exact same thing on an interview where he said that the government cannot do it all to help Haiti.

Do you remember how, for eight years we were told that Bush was ruining our economy? It was implied that unemployment was skyrocketing. Unemployment was about 4 percent when he was in office and now it is about 14 percent.

Our News is doing us all a disservice.

 

[mortimer]

First of all I have heard that the mainstream media knew that John Edwards was screwing someone he was not married to and said nothing about it. (while running for president -- if that is not a big deal to you, I would like to discuss this)

Evidence?

 

[DavidJames]

Evidence?

That should apply to almost every sentence.

 

[madurobob]

I have noticed a few things lately. First of all I have heard that the mainstream media knew that John Edwards was screwing someone he was not married to and said nothing about it. (while running for president -- if that is not a big deal to you, I would like to discuss this) I also know that the media sent teams of investigators to dig up any trash they could on Sarah Palin.

Um, so, what exactly happened to Edwards campaign, then?

 

[theprestige]

All your bais are belong to us.

 

[Upchurch]

Bill, remember what I told you about not trusting your instincts when it comes to politics but checking first?

This is one of those times.

 

[Cain]

Seek help.

 

[KingMerv00]

Evidence?

You must have missed it. Let me bold it for you:

I have noticed a few things lately. First of all I have heard that the mainstream media knew that John Edwards was screwing someone he was not married to and said nothing about it.

Hope your satisfied.

 

[KingMerv00]

Unemployment was about 4 percent when he was in office and now it is about 14 percent.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the unemployment rate is currently 10.0%. Where the hell did you get 14%?

Furthermore when Obama took office, the unemployment rate was 7.7% - 8.2%. It was 9.4% by May. To imply the unemployment rate is Obama's fault is just dishonest.

 

[Eyeron]

Well why not? Liberals blame Bush for unemployment rates, why shouldn't Obama be? Or is this just another partisan double standard which states that it's okay for the other guy to be blamed but not my guy.

 

[DavidJames]

Well why not? Liberals blame Bush for unemployment rates, why shouldn't Obama be? Or is this just another partisan double standard which states that it's okay for the other guy to be blamed but not my guy.

Pay attention - the issue in contention is the pulled from his butt percentage.

Plus, it took Bush 8 years to **** up the economy, I would allow his successor at least a couple/three to fix it.

 

[Darth Rotor]

Pay attention - the issue in contention is the pulled from his butt percentage.

Plus, it took Bush 8 years to **** up the economy, I would allow his successor at least a couple/three to fix it.

Or screw it up as well. Either is a possible outcome.

 

[Praktik]

Well why not? Liberals blame Bush for unemployment rates, why shouldn't Obama be? Or is this just another partisan double standard which states that it's okay for the other guy to be blamed but not my guy.

If you spend a lot of time looking for partisanship you might find it where it really, well, isn't...

Reasonable people could say without a hint of partisanship that sticking Obama with the unemployment rate now is short-sighted given the longer-term trends that create the current % we're sitting at.

Sure, Obama is in charge now. The best grounds for criticism is no change, or continued worsening, some years later. 12 months in though, it seems a little rushed and well, partisan I dare say.

(full disclaimer: I am happy to criticize Obama on any number of things - you might find upon questioning that there's actually a lot of things he's doing domestically I disapprove of).

 

[Praktik]

Our News is doing us all a disservice.

Yes, but for entirely different reasons. Among them:

• An inerrant belief that the truth is best served by a "on the one hand/on the other hand" approach to scrutinizing policy. Example: this is the dem position on healthcare, this is what republicans are saying. Job done.
• A Beltway nexus of media elites and political power. Most media outlets are in the giddy thrall of their proximity to the levers of power and end up assimilating the assumptions of the powerful.
• A steady concentration of media outlets in fewer and fewer hands.

And that's for starters.

 

[KingMerv00]

Well why not? Liberals blame Bush for unemployment rates, why shouldn't Obama be?

Beacause as I've pointed out there is no way in hell Obama caused the unemployment spike. That's not to say Bush necessarily caused it either of course.

We get it. Both sides are partisan. Bringing it up every time people discuss politics hardly helps.

 

[shadron]

Then, recently, I clicked on msnbc.com and saw that they reported that Rush Limbaugh said some dope that we should let Haiti suffer. So I dug a little deeper and guess what? He never said anything like that at all. It is a flat-out lie. The oposite is true. He said it is the responsibility of the American people to be giving.

Actually, Rush may have said that, but he didn't just leave it there; he had to embellish it while he was at it: http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201001130018. Later on, he seems to have contradicted your statement above when he said that US citizens had already donated, through their taxes: http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201001130022. Check it out, Bill. Rush's comments are on live audio, right there.

I'd like to here an msnbc commentator quoted along the lines you speak of above. Got any?

Obama had some html redirects set up for people to get to the Red Cross donations page from the white house site, but Rush accused him of skimming money off the top, and then siphoning names off for campaigning purposes. All from an HTML redirect. That is just pitiful.

 

[Tricky]

Is that the same Liberal Media that covered every single lurid detail of Bill Clinton's sex life and every single minute of his impeachment? And is it the same liberal media that dragged Obama's pastor out into the open? And the same liberal media that covered Democratic governer Rod Blagojevich's scandal like a bloodhound until he resigned... and after? And indeed the same liberal media that brought Edward's infidelity to the public?

Damn that liberal media. They really have it out for conservatives.

 

[skeptifem]

I have noticed a few things lately. First of all I have heard that the mainstream media knew that John Edwards was screwing someone he was not married to and said nothing about it. (while running for president -- if that is not a big deal to you, I would like to discuss this) I also know that the media sent teams of investigators to dig up any trash they could on Sarah Palin.

Now, I am not a fan of Sarah Palin. I am not a fan because I honestly know nothing about her and I no longer trust the media to be straight with me about her.

Then, recently, I clicked on msnbc.com and saw that they reported that Rush Limbaugh said some dope that we should let Haiti suffer. So I dug a little deeper and guess what? He never said anything like that at all. It is a flat-out lie. The oposite is true. He said it is the responsibility of the American people to be giving. Either the reporters are too stupid or they corrupt to get it right. In fact Bill Clinton has said the exact same thing on an interview where he said that the government cannot do it all to help Haiti.

Do you remember how, for eight years we were told that Bush was ruining our economy? It was implied that unemployment was skyrocketing. Unemployment was about 4 percent when he was in office and now it is about 14 percent.

Our News is doing us all a disservice.

our news is doing us all a disservice, but not because of 'liberal bias'. The idea of 'both sides' being represented in the mainstream media is a joke, in an extreme sense. What is considered the left in mainstream news is not very far left at all, its just left of the extreme right. I can hear opinion on television from democrats, republicans, and libertarians. Despite the freak out over socialism I haven't heard socialist opinion on mainstream news television as regularly as I have encountered libertarian commentary, nor have I heard communist or anarchist or any other sort of commentary outside of the first 3 groups I mentioned. The range is very very narrow. Far left opinion is extremely anti-corporate in nature, but it is not really expressed on news shows at all (I mean anti all corporations, not anti certain corporations). Many foreign policy opinions seem to be inexpressible in mainstream media as well.

Very few people own all of the media, and it is extremely unlikely that they would work to undermine themselves when there are at minimum some shared interests among the class of people who own the news media.


In the face of such structural problems, I am unsure how anyone could really care if they get a quote from rush correct or not. Getting a quote from him wrong certainly doesn't seem to be enough to prove some kind of total bias against everyone sharing his political leanings; it is one quote. I am not entirely sure why he deserves coverage at all.

 

[corplinx]

When I go to the gym, there's Fox on one TV and CNN on another. Meanwhile, all I want is the Playboy Channel.

Who cares about bias in the media anymore, if its there, change the channel. Eventually you will find something that reinforces the ideas you already have.

 

[Ladewig]

I'll start worrying about the media's liberal bias the day I hear of labor negotiations described as management demands and union concessions.